GUWAHATI: The Kuki-Zo tribals have stood their ground on the Union Territory with separate legislature demand, with the influential Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) warning that any MLA from the community, who chooses to disregard this “collective decision” by joining the government, will do so in his/her individual capacity.
Nemcha Kipgen, a Kuki-Zo tribal woman, has been named as deputy chief minister. Two other Kuki-Zo MLAs are likely to be inducted into the Yumnam Khemchand Singh government.
Reiterating its firm and consistent position regarding the formation of the government, the KZC said at its governing council meeting held on 30 December 2025—comprising all constituent tribes, apex bodies, and regional organisations—it was unanimously resolved that, in view of the “unspeakable atrocities committed against the Kuki-Zo people and the enforced physical separation imposed by the Meiteis,” the Kuki-Zo people could not and would not participate in the formation of the government.
“This collective resolve was further reaffirmed on 13 January 2026 at the joint meeting of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) groups, the Kuki-Zo Council, and Kuki Zo MLAs held in Guwahati. The meeting resolved that the Kuki-Zo people shall not participate in the formation of the Manipur government unless the state and Central governments provide a clear and written assurance committing to the political demand of the Kuki-Zo people,” the KZC said in a statement.
“The Kuki-Zo people have been forcibly and physically separated by the Meiteis, and therefore, have legitimately demanded a separate administration from the Meitei government in the form of a Union Territory with a legislature. Under these circumstances, it is neither logical nor acceptable for the Kuki-Zo people to join a government formed with those from whom we have been violently separated,” the statement further stated.
The KZC warned that any Kuki-Zo MLA, who chooses to disregard this collective decision, will do so in their individual capacity and KZC shall not be held accountable for the consequences arising from such unilateral decisions.
It urged the MLAs concerned to respect the “collective will, sentiments, unity and political aspiration of the Kuki-Zo people.”
Meanwhile, the Kuki Inpi Manipur rejected the formation of “any popular government” at this critical juncture, stating that it will be nothing more than a Meitei-centric political arrangement, incapable of delivering peace, justice, or reconciliation and on the contrary, it will only embolden the state machinery to continue its agenda of domination, persecution, and systematic subjugation of the Kuki-Zo people.
“It is for this very reason that the Kuki Inpi Manipur has strongly dissuaded Kuki-Zo MLAs from associating with this illegitimate political exercise. The organisation reiterates in unequivocal terms that no Kuki-Zo MLA should, under any circumstances, associate with or lend legitimacy to a so-called popular government that stands in complete disregard of the suffering, aspirations, and political will of the Kuki-Zo people,” the organisation stated.